26th July 2015. We’re in Hiroshima, Japan. There’s a definite feeling that despite some quality matches, the G1 hasn’t quite kicked into higher gear just yet. However tonight’s show hails from a bigger location and sees two main event matches that could easily headline a PPV plus an intriguing third between Shibata and Makabe. Thanks to HoWs patented scoring system, I can give you a run-down on the quality of the shows thus far; Day 1: 79Day 2: 84Day 3: 71Day 4: 78Certainly it’s not been a bad tournament, with plenty of high scores and snowflakes falling but you expect some big blow-away shows during G1 and we’ve not had one…yet. Before we begin this evening’s entertainment here are the Block standings; BLOCK A:AJ Styles 4Hiroshi Tanahashi 4Tetsuya Naito 2Hiroyoshi Tenzan 2Togi Makabe 2Kota Ibushi 2Bad Luck Fale 2Katsuyori Shibata 2Doc Gallows 0Toru Yano 0This is the block being contested tonight. AJ and Tanahashi both put their undefeated streaks on the line, against Kota Ibushi and Tetsuya Naito, respectively. Those are two big matches for the block’s structure. In particular for Ibushi, who will have faced Tana and AJ in his first three matches. A win tonight would definitely catapult him into contention. BLOCK B: Karl Anderson 4Kazuchika Okada 4Tomohiro Ishii 4Yuji Nagata 2Hirooki Goto 2Satoshi Kojima 2Shinsuke Nakamura 2Yujiro Takahashi 0Tomoaki Honma 0Michael Elgin 0No action in Block B tonight but Goto vs. Honma, Nagata vs. Yujiro, Anderson vs. Ishii, Elgin vs. Nakamura and Okada vs. Kojima will be taking place on Day Six and be hyped during tag team contests this evening. Which means either Anderson or Ishii’s 100% record will go. It also looks like a very strong line up for Day Six. Tomoaki Honma, Mascara Dorada, Ryusuke Taguchi & David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Yohei KomatsuTaguchi is in the wrong match, he’s supposed to be in the 4th match, partnering Elgin and Kojima. Perhaps Gedo got as sick of his ass-antics as me and bumped him down to the opener. As will be revealed when the 4th match rolls around this was actually a move to accommodate Shinsuke Nakamura, who’s nursing a sore elbow. Goto vs. Honma might be the G1 focus but the juniors are out here to impress and work a blistering pace. Apart from Taguchi. Same shit, different day, from the Funky Weapon. As for the G1 participants; Goto is keen to leave a mark on Honma, perhaps already starting the beatdown of his opponent. It’s a fun opener with Finlay getting to show a little personality before being manhandled by Tiger Mask. NJPW generally make good use of multiple person tags, providing the participants are game. It’s perhaps a bit too brisk and is finished leaving me wanting more. Highlights included Finlay mocking Goto, which is just fantastic, and Liger getting love from ringside fans in his hometown. He’ll be back later to commentate. Final Rating: ***KOKESHI COUNT – 1 missed. 1 hit. Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall) vs. Yuji Nagata & Captain New JapanYujiro has a poor replacement for Mao for the second night running. Is he just using local girls or something? Regional Mao’s. If that’s not bad enough, NJPW’s dubbed music doesn’t do anything to drown out the live music and the audio is a massive mess because of it. I keep thinking there’s music playing on Twitter or BBC Sport or whatever other window I’ve got open. The audio becomes an even bigger disaster as someone comes onto the air doing MIC CHECKS. “Ichiban des, ichiban des”. SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU IDIOT. I look forward to hearing this madness again on Botchamania. The match has one massive positive; Nagata kicking the fuck out of Yujiro and throwing him around like a sack of spuds. If that’s the match on Tuesday, it should be pretty good. Highlights in this one include Captain New Japan incapacitating Yujiro with an armbar and Nagata being manhandled by Cody Hall. Not very well, but manhandled nonetheless. Nagata puts Cody away with the armbar. This might have been better than ** but the production issues made it hard to focus on the match. Final Rating: **Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga) vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI)The audio assault continues with both Ishii’s normal theme and his dubbed theme playing in competition with each other, something that happened with Tiger Mask’s earlier. Ishii’s leg is taped, which is a nice change for him. He’s normally all about the shoulder injuries. Karl Anderson has had the number of two of NJPW’s top guns and he’s got Ishii in his sights. Strange as it may seem, with Anderson having beaten Nakamura already, Ishii is the biggest threat to his unbeaten streak yet. Because Ishii doesn’t take any loss lightly and battles like a motherfucker to ensure he doesn’t get into trouble in this midcard tag match. If anything it’s Anderson who should be worried about YOSHI-HASHI, who’s been on fire in the tags and gets Anderson into trouble during their one-on-one segment. But Tama also raises his game and you’ve got two guys who must have been close to being selected for the G1 tournament, determined to prove their point. YOSHI-HASHI eventually falls afoul of the Gun Stun and Ishii immediately gets into it with Karl to test his jaw out. Another tidy little tag match. Block B are rocking the tags on this tour. Final Rating: ***Michael Elgin & Satoshi Kojima vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Gedo)Shinsuke Nakamura is out with an arm injury, which is yet another issue for him in his pursuit of G1 glory. It’s really not working out too well for him so far. Missing a tag match with injury isn’t a big deal but what it does do is paint a bulls-eye on that arm for future opponents. Okada has been very keen to demonstrate his superiority over everyone he wrestles by doing a very deliberate clean break on the ropes early in the matches. As if to say ‘I don’t need to take short cuts to beat you’. It’s prime psychological warfare from the IWGP champion. Elgin continues to impress by doing the same spots as in his first tag match but nailing them. Okada is at a distinct disadvantage by teaming with lightweight Gedo and the opponents take full advantage. Elgin seems to enjoy himself and employs BEAST MODE. His lack of interaction with Nakamura ahead of their match is a disappointment but in a way it’s a bonus for him. Elgin can take this match to look strong and set himself up for Nakamura in a different way. Okada finds himself overwhelmed at having to face two G1 contenders and Kojima gets a lot of joy out of him. Especially when Okada goes for the Rainmaker and Kojima batters him with the lariat. Gedo gets one too and Kojima scores the pin. This was great fun. Probably the best undercard tag match on the tour so far.Final Rating: ***1/2G1 Climax Block ABad Luck Fale vs. Doc GallowsPre-Match pick: Gallows. No reason, other than I don’t like Fale and I suppose Gallows is due because he’s been blanked so far. The Bullet Club collide in a battle of the big men. Oddly enough Cody Hall comes out with Gallows to wave the Bullet Club flag. Oh god, don’t turn Fale face. One of the commentators has the nerve to shout “dream match” as they’re coming out here. They do the TOO SWEET Wolfie high bite, so this should be a friendly affair. The commentators massive overreaction to any collisions makes this match more entertaining, despite it being a typical WWE style hoss match from 1988-1991. Jushin Liger in particular attempts to get over the size deal with enormous overreactions to everything. They brawl around outside for an eternity, making me think we’ll get a double count out. There is certainly no shortage of effort with both big boys barrelling into each other. It’s not good but it’s not actively bad. Doc even has a few counters lined up for Fale’s lumbering high spots. Gallows does all the hard work, including mounting the buckles to set up Fale for the Bad Luck Fall and throwing himself into the finishing Grenade. This wasn’t terrible. So that’s a bonus. Much better than Fale-Makabe for example. The Japanese commentators put the win down to Fale’s increased weight, giving him extra power. It sure looked like it when he needed Gallows to do all the damn work. Final Rating: **1/4Picks: 13/21G1 Climax Block AHiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Toru YanoPre-Match pick: Yano. He’s been blanked so far and Tenzan isn’t going to win the tournament. Yano’s pre-match water bottle assault is on a par with the Brahman brothers from DDT, among other places. Yano’s wacky tactics this evening include taping Tenzan to the guardrail for the potential count out victory and lifting the Mongolian chops. When Tenzan hits his own the commentator screams “MONGOLIAN, MONGOLIAN, MONGOLIAN”. That would have been an insult back in the early 90s when I was in school. Tenzan gets colour from the exposed turnbuckle (or possibly the diving headbutt), giving Yano’s spots added evil intentions and they both bleed a gusher. Yano gets a low blow and rolls Tenzan up for the win. The colour made this one. It looked accidental. As expected the match was short and served a purpose. Replays confirm it was Tenzan’s diving headbutt that busted both men open. That’s one intense headbutt. There’s a possibility this one finished early on an audible for blood loss but I didn’t have it booked as a long match anyway to protect Tenzan. Final Rating: **3/4Picks: 14/22G1 Climax Block AKatsuyori Shibata vs. Togi Makabe Pre-Match pick: Shibata. Always Shibata. Last year Togi carried a jaw problem through the early stages and it cost him. This year it’s Shibata who came in injured but his arm seems to be healed after the first few matches and his movements are much more natural. There are now bloodstains all over the mat, showing just how much Yano and Tenzan just bled. Makabe looks like he means business, not giving Shibata time or space to operate in. His secondary tactic is wearing out Shibata’s arm with his face. It’s not quite as successful. However he’s not willing to back down and this results in a biblical effort. Two guys determined to beat the shit out of each other. It is STIFF AS FUCK. Not only that they start refusing to stay down for longer than ONE on the pins. It’s a MANLY, MANLY MATCH. Shibata gets the sleeper and finishes with the PK. I realise I didn’t write much about this one because I was gripped at the idea of these two just beating on each other. Final Rating: ****Picks: 15/23G1 Climax Block AAJ Styles vs. Kota IbushiPre-Match pick: AJ. Although this one is tight and could go either way. I have every suspicion that AJ stays strong to give the natives something to chase. I basically have AJ winning every match until Tanahashi. Never back against Tana. These guys are fairly evenly matched with Kota always feeling like a younger AJ Styles to me. AJ has the experience and has developed into a better storyteller as he’s gotten older. He’s the guy who controls the pace and feel of this match. AJ is only four years older than Kota (37 to 33) but his experience in so many different promotions gives him a wrestling edge. They have some slick counters lined up, including a brilliant piece where they dodge potential dives and Ibushi kicks AJ’s legs out from under him. AJ’s bumps are intense, as if his reputation depends on how hard he lands. AJ uses some rest holds to control but that makes Ibushi looks more dynamic in his comebacks. When the pace quickens, AJ quickly switches to bigger moves with high impact to them. There are few wrestlers on the planet with better move sets than AJ Styles. He has a good blend of flying, technical skill and submissions. His strong style isn’t bad either and his kicks are solid. Not as good as Ibushi’s though. Kota goes after his German off the apron into the ring and they counter into a batshit crazy flying headscissors to the floor. Was AJ considering a jumping Tombstone off the apron? From there the match gets crazy good with insane counters, at speed, and massive teases. This culminates in AJ hitting a kneeling piledriver to stop Kota trying to escape a Styles Clash. They throw in a bunch of cool spots and last gasp kick-outs. The best of which is from Bloody Sunday where it looked over, with Ibushi having taken so many spots on his neck. Their first match was good but this is on another level. Ibushi heads up top and gets the massive win with the Phoenix Splash! What a result, what a match! Final Rating: ****3/4 Picks: 15/24. I really don’t care that I got that one wrong. What a great fucking match! G1 Climax Block ATetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi Pre-Match pick: Tanahashi. Always Tanahashi. As always with Naito, everyone on Twitter seems really into him and I have no idea why. Since his heel turn I’ve had no interest in him whatsoever. He shows signs of actually giving a shit here, seeing as he’s in the main event and actually shoves a cameraman away. That’s all I want from him; something beyond apathy towards everything. He ups his game by hitting a neckbreaker on the timekeeper’s table, which is more like it. It’s a pity this match had to follow AJ-Ibushi, which was such a blow away contest. Naito’s lackadaisical approach does not make for an interesting match. Tana does what he can; absorbing Naito’s half-baked offence and trying to make him interested in the match by belting Naito with slaps. With every slap you see Naito considering it a victory, like he’s riled Tanahashi into losing his cool. One school of thought is that Naito figures he can beat Tanahashi, having bested him in the 2013 G1 Final, which is a fair point as they’ve not had a singles match since then. Naito is positively calm and hooks the Pluma Blanca. Tana escapes and starts taking apart from Naito’s knee. As a heel, who doesn’t need to flip about, this allows Naito to do some selling…if he bothered with such things as emotions nowadays. Eventually he does, because Tanahashi won’t relent. Naito even throws in a few little sells in between spots. Tana has the match won with Slingblade and a High Fly Flow press but just has to go up for another one, which Naito blocks. The story Naito is telling, beyond the fact he’s a jerk, is regarding Tanahashi’s neck, which he’s targeted throughout. After the war of the body parts is over the match picks up considerably, with some slick countering before an odd finish where Naito flips into an inverted DDT for the win (like a standing Sliced Bread #2). Hmm. Naito tries to claim some bonus heel points by decking the ref and Jay White after the match but that’s the kind of fire he needs to show DURING a match. Naito’s post match interview includes his declaration of independence from New Japan. He is now “ingobernable”. Actually, the whole second half of the match and attitude afterwards was much better from Naito and made me more interested in his storyline arc. Now he’s switched finishers he needs to a) do the new finisher properly and b) get new music. A more storyline based match than the spot-heavy AJ-Ibushi contest but another cracker and a fine way to finish the show. Final Rating: ****1/4 Picks: 15/25. Terrible night for predictions, 2/5. Worst yet. We won’t have too many nights where AJ Styles and Tanahashi lose, in my opinion. Here’s the Block before we leave:BLOCK A:AJ Styles 4Hiroshi Tanahashi 4Tetsuya Naito 4Kota Ibushi 4Bad Luck Fale 4Katsuyori Shibata 4Hiroyoshi Tenzan 2Togi Makabe 2Toru Yano 2Doc Gallows 0Two upsets on Day Five, with AJ and Tana both losing. This opens the Block way up with everyone on four points potentially in contention (apart from Fale). Naito’s change in attitude and Ibushi’s big victory put them in a category as two of the most intriguing wrestlers in Block A. Plus there’s always Shibata. It’s gone from being a very deliberate looking two horse set up to a competitive block. As we go to leave the post match analysis Liger yells “let’s get wasted” at the crowd. And why not, there’s no G1 tomorrow. It’s an off day before we get back to business on Tuesday. Summary: What a night this was. When we rolled into Day Five, Block A seemed cut and dry after only two matches. Naito’s ridiculous, full-bore heel turn and Ibushi’s dramatic victory over AJ Styles changed all that. With the main event, most people seemed to like that better than me. I’m not really into Naito, as a heel, but it was still a good match thanks to the body part storytelling and the pick up at the finish. AJ-Ibushi was an amazing display of athleticism and the best match of the G1 so far. Perhaps forgotten in the write-ups will be the excellent and super-manly strike-fest between Shibata and Makabe. This was a perfect demonstration of how much better G1 would be if they didn’t keep putting scrubs like Fale and Gallows in it. Three excellent top end matches, all completely different. Top recommendation; best day of the G1 thus far. Verdict: 100